Astro Kasih - Reef Rescuers

"The future, yeah it stays true," Honolulu by The Last Dinosaurs.

So recently - from 6th – 13th April 2013, the Astro Kasih team organised a GUINNESS WORLD RECORD™ attempt for the longest underwater clean up, held at the Tunku Abdul Rahman Park off the shores of Kota Kinabalu, Sabah. The initiative was started to create greater awareness on marine conservation - with the help of 134 volunteer divers from Malaysia and across the world, working at 14 dives sites around the park, in an epic, non-stop 168-hour, seven-day underwater clean-up mission.

Divers surfacing after a round of cleaning up underwater.

The activity is part of Astro Kasih’s Beautiful Malaysia programme - one of Astro’s Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) initiatives under its environmental pillar, to raise awareness on preserving the environment with community engagement for environmental activities. If you’ve not heard of them, Astro Kasih is a volunteer initiative undertaken by Astro employees for the betterment and advancement of the community that we live in. You’ll be glad to know that they welcome ideas on the Astro Kasih Facebook page at https://www.facebook.com/astrokasihmalaysia 

Just to get you thinking, other cool stuff carried out under Astro Kasih Beautiful Malaysia includes a coral transplanting project in 2011 at Ribbon Reef in Tun Sakaran Marine Park, Sabah – an effort that achieved certification by the Malaysia Book of Records with 777 corals transplanted. To learn more, just surf over to www.astrokasih.org/beautifulmalaysia In addition, the Astro Kasih initiative has also helped many underprivileged villages and children in Sabah since 2009. Their activities include building and repairing amenities and infrastructure and contributing to the improvement of educational resources for the kids.

So, since not all of us may have followed the record-breaking attempt, Astro has very kindly worked with Discovery Network to produce Reef Rescuers, a 30-minute television special showing an insider perspective of what it takes to plan and execute such a huge marine conservation project. But watching the programme is not all we can do to get into the Beautiful Malaysia spirit! Thanks to Astro, we can all participate in a special quiz to celebrate the upcoming premiere of Reef Rescuers – airing on Discovery Channel (Astro Ch 551) and Discovery HD World (Astro Ch 571) on Thursday 30th May at 7pm.         

Volunteer divers posing with their haul.

You’ll be excited to know that Astro Kasih is giving away 1 GoPro camera every day over the next 7 days via the Astro Kasih Reef Rescuers ‘7 Days of Sharing’ Facebook quiz! If you don’t already know, this awesome camera is called the world’s most versatile camera. Check it out here http://gopro.com/.  To participate, just go to the Astro Kasih Facebook Page. Starting on 24 May 2013, the quiz runs until 30 May 2013 – a total of 7 days or 168 hours – the same length as the clean-up. Every morning, you will be given a multiple choice question that you must answer by 7pm on the same day. Last but not least, you’re needed to spread the word on the Reef Rescuers programme and quiz. Just post a Facebook status update that says “I just took the Reef Rescuers quiz about the world’s longest underwater clean-up in Sabah, Malaysia. Take the quiz today and win a GoPro! Catch the 30-minute documentary on Discovery Channel (Astro Ch 551) and Discovery HD World (Astro Ch 571), premieres 30 May, Thursday, 7pm.” After that, check back on the Astro Kasih Facebook page after 10am the next day to know if you’ll be getting your hands on a GoPro camera courtesy of Astro Kasih. But why stop there – make a date with your family and friends to watch Reef Rescuers – you can even organise a viewing party, simply link everyone up at the Reef Rescuers Facebook Events page at https://www.facebook.com/events/320722658059225/ Remember to use the Red Button on your Astro remote control during viewing – you can get more info, chat on Twitter, see an info feed, or check out their other giveaways. 

After you surf over to join the quiz, you can also look around for ways to keep Malaysia green or engage in sustainable living. If you prefer to check out the best places for scuba diving or cool places to travel to, have a look at the conversations on the Discovery Southeast Asia Facebook page at https://www.facebook.com/DiscoverySEAsia 

May peace and blessings be upon you.

Cheers!